Back pain in the morning may occur despite the fact that in the evening at bedtime is not present. The back pain that appeared in the morning can be located only in a certain region of the back or it can also include the neck, the sides of the back, the upper and lower limbs.
Depending on the location, we distinguish three types of back pain:
- cervical spine pain
- pain located in the upper back (chest)
- pain located in the lower back (lumbar)
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Causes of back pain
In most cases, morning back pain is due to spinal disorders. However, there are also cases in which the back pain that appeared in the morning when waking up is due to milder conditions or even favorable factors.
The main conditions or pathological conditions that can cause back pain in the morning:
- Disc herniation
- Spine fracture
- Kyphosis
- Scoliosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Cervical spondylosis
- Spondylarthrosis
- Degenerative disease of the intervertebral disc
There are also certain risk factors that by their presence can facilitate the appearance of back pain in the morning. Among them we mention:
- Adopting a wrong position during sleep
- Worn or improper pillow (which does not ensure a correct position of the cervical spine during sleep)
- Improper mattress
- Pregnancy
Clinical manifestations that may accompany back pain
Back pain in the morning, due to pillow or mattress unsuitable for sleeping, may also be accompanied by numbness of the extremities (numbness, predominantly of the hands or fingers), headache, stiffness of the cervical spine.
Herniated disc
Patients may experience localized pain in the lumbar spine, neck pain, clavicle, shoulder and shoulder blade pain, sciatica, localized pain in the buttocks, muscle weakness and spasms, localized paresthesia in the extremities, fatigue of the upper limbs, difficulty to make sudden movements and to spontaneously turn the head.
Spine fracture
Patients may experience back pain in the morning on waking, accompanied by pain in the cervical spine, muscle spasms, muscle weakness, bladder and intestinal transit disorders, paralysis.
Kyphosis
Patients have a forward bent posture accompanied by a hump (kyphosis) and may frequently complain of back pain in the morning on waking, fatigue, frequency, stiffness of the cervical spine and a marked hypersensitivity of the cervical spine.
Scoliosis
Specific clinical manifestations include back pain in the morning on waking, accompanied by the presence of a vicious posture, characterized by the inclination of the body to one side, the asymmetry of the rib cage, the ascent of one of the two shoulders, so they are no longer at the same level, etc.
Degenerative disease of the intervertebral disc
It is clinically characterized by localized pain in the back and neck, which occurs more frequently in the morning on waking, of varying intensity, with irradiation in the arms (in the case of pain located in the upper back), buttocks or lower limbs (in the case of pain located in the lower back), which worsens as a result of movements such as twisting the torso, bending the torso forward or lifting the whole body on tiptoe.
Chest spondylosis
Patients may experience back pain in the morning when they wake up, located in the chest (in the upper and middle part of the back), accompanied by pain in the extension or bending of the torso and stiffness of the neck.
Lumbar spondylosis
It can lead to back pain in the morning when you wake up, located predominantly in the lower back (in the projection area of the lumbar spine), which improves during physical training, accompanied by stiffness and numbness of the back and difficulty walking.
Rheumatoid arthritis
It is characterized clinically by cervical spine pain in the morning on waking, morning cervical stiffness, functional injury of the cervical spine, deformation of the joints of the hands and feet, the appearance of rheumatoid nodules, the appearance of vasculitis.
Treatment of back pain
Relieving and combating back pain that occurs in the morning on waking can be achieved by:
- physiotherapy
- massage
- combating sedentary lifestyle through regular physical training (spinal stretching exercises, upper, middle and lower back exercises)
- avoidance of physical activities that overload the spine
- local or oral administration of analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs
It may also be effective to change the pillow and / or mattress improperly, avoid adopting a vicious position during sleep, and avoid getting out of bed in the morning when you wake up.